WEIRD STUFF

Dogs could help slow ageing in women.

Scientists at Florida Atlantic University in the US found that women who spent just one hour a week training service dogs showed biological signs of slower ageing compared to those who did not.

The study focused on 28 female veterans aged 32 to 72, all living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Over eight weeks, half volunteered to train service dogs for other veterans, while the rest simply watched dog-training videos.

The researchers discovered that women who interacted directly with the pooches showed increased telomere length - a key marker of cellular ageing - suggesting improved biological resilience.

Dr Cheryl Krause-Parello, lead author of the study, said: "Nontraditional approaches like connecting with animals can offer meaningful support.

"These relationships provide emotional safety and stability, which can be especially powerful for women."

The findings indicate that even limited time with canines may help counter the physical effects of stress and promote healthy ageing - though scientists say further research is needed to see if the same benefits apply to men.

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Quitting smoking could reduce risk of dementia

The University College London study, published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity, found that older adults who stopped smoking experienced significantly slower cognitive decline than those who continued.

Researchers followed 9,400 smokers aged over 40, half of whom quit after six years.

Over the next half a dozen years, former smokers' memory deterioration slowed by 20 per cent, while their speech and language declined only half as much as people who kept smoking.

Experts say smoking damages blood vessels that supply the brain with oxygen, and quitting can help restore healthy circulation -- protecting against long-term cognitive decline.

Study author Dr Mikaela Bloomberg said: "This suggests that quitting smoking may help people to maintain better cognitive health over the long term, even if we are in our 50s or older when we quit.

"This is important because middle-aged and older smokers are less likely to try to quit than younger groups, yet they disproportionately experience the harms of smoking."

The findings add to growing evidence that it's never too late to stop smoking - with both immediate and lasting benefits for the brain.

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Hippos once roamed central Europe

A study, published in Current Biology, found that common hippos (Hippopotamus amphibius) were still living in the Upper Rhine region of southwestern Germany between 47,000 and 31,000 years ago.

Until now, experts thought the species - which is now only found in sub-Saharan Africa - had vanished from Europe about 115,000 years ago.

Researchers from the University of Potsdam analysed Ice Age fossil deposits and discovered that hippos coexisted with cold-adapted species such as mammoths and woolly rhinoceroses.

Dr Wilfried Rosendahl, who led the excavation project, said: "The current study provides important new insights which impressively prove that the Ice Age was not the same everywhere.

"Local peculiarities taken together form a complex overall picture - similar to a puzzle."

The findings suggest that parts of central Europe were once far warmer and more habitable than previously thought, allowing tropical species like hippos to thrive before the global cooling eventually drove them to extinction in the region.